Don’t miss out on this great upcoming opportunity to get your home or office organized.  Check back with us on October 1st.

This particular space is a sitting room/alcove off a bedroom.  At first the settee is difficult to see amongst all the clothing clutter.  Clothes that no longer fit were being kept in the hope that one day they would again.  Over time, as the cloths outgrew the closet, they found their way into the sitting room and the disarray grew as it became increasingly difficult to find the clothes that fit amongst all the ones that did not.

ALCHEMY SOLUTION:

We worked with this client to understand that in order to be who they were now and work towards who they wanted to be tomorrow, it was necessary to shed the things that were getting in the way – the clothes that no longer fit as well as the cloths that they just did not like anymore.

Seven black garbage bags of neatly laundered and folded cloths were donated to a local charity. What remained was organized into type and colour pieces which allowed for a full outfit to be put together at a glance and in a moment.

The makeshift walk-in closet went back to being what it was originally intended to be – a beautiful light-filled sitting room for morning coffee and evening relaxation.

ORGANIZING TIP:

As they say, ‘one man’s treasure is another man’s junk’ – if you have not worn something within a 12 month period, donate it.  This cycle will ensure the happy and healthy shape and size of your closet.  Plus we get to be caring, sharing people doing good in the world!

This home had three different businesses operating out of it and the personal space was being eaten up by all the work related material and equipment that supported these businesses.  Their daily congregation spot was the dining room and table.  Storage space was badly needed but there was none.  Or so it was thought!

The basement had a small room packed to the ceiling with mostly empty boxes for all their equipment (for the “just in case we need to return something” times) as well as other odds and ends.  It was a perfect spot for the work related material that was needed but not on a regular basis.

ALCHEMY SOLUTION:

The owners of the boxes were persuaded to fold them down and store them in an otherwise unusable spot in the basement and move unwanted shelving from other parts of the home to this newly empty space for storage of reference material.  Out of this one small change in the use of space, they ended up saving money by re-using shelving that was otherwise going to be thrown away, and reclaiming their living room which allowed them to purchase their much dreamed about cosy couch to create a more comfortable and welcoming living room for themselves and their guests.

ORGANIZING TIP:

Instead of rushing out and buying a lot of ‘lets get you more organized’ stuff, check to see what you already have that can be used differently.  Not only will it save you money, but re-using an item in a different space or manner will create a brand new and fresh look for you and save the land fills from filling too quickly.

The furniture and equipment were specifically chosen to allow this small space to function both as a living space as well as a work space, with the ability to move things around easily as and when needed.  However, the sheer volume of ’stuff’ everywhere prevented anything being moved even a little.  This created a difficult and unprofessional work environment and a very uncomfortable living space, with ‘work’ being in the client’s face 24/7.

There was a loss in income due to income generating to-do items as well as stale-dated cheques being buried amongst the paper.  This very talented entrepreneur craved a better customer experience for his customers, a more organized back office and a cosy home atmosphere for himself.

ALCHEMY SOLUTION:

We identified the most urgent needs and wishes and went to work systematically moving through the room sorting, purging and organizing as we went.  What resulted was a work surface that re-inspired creativity, a mobile office and a system that allowed timely and efficient follow ups and follow through to ensure speed as well as quality in the work they delivered for the ultimate client experience.  At the end of the work day, the same space transformed into a peaceful haven allowing for a more relaxing personal time experience.

ORGANIZING TIP:

Keep a tight vigilance on your invoicing and deposit the money/cheques you receive as payment regularly.  There is an amazing amount of money being thrown out the window once it has physically arrived within your office due to it getting buried amongst the clutter.  Over the years we have discovered thousands of dollars in cash and stale dated cheques.  In an economy where it can be difficult enough to get the next client, why would you not want to receive payment for something you have already worked for?

Office space was not inspiring client to actually go into the office and do anything.  There was no space on the desk for client to actually work and the sheer amount of paper everywhere busied the mind with clutter as soon as they walked into the space, so often they chose not to.  The business suffered as a result.  The paper also spread into the personal space – stacks being found here and there.  Office supplies were located in several different places as additional stuff was purchased when it was thought that they had ran out of some stationary items.

ALCHEMY SOLUTION:

This project took one day to complete.  We systematically worked around the room throughout the day sorting, purging and re-organizing.  Over 50% went directly into the garbage or re-cycling.  What remained was filed – making sure that each item had a place and that there was a place for each item.  What resulted was a clutter free desk surface that allowed focus on the work at hand.  The personalised work-flow process we created ensured that most items were touched and dealt with only once and the easy movement of paper in and out of the office as well as across the desk space ensured a continued clear and focused work space.

ORGANIZING TIP:

When dealing with an over-abundance of paper, don’t get stuck in dealing with one piece of paper at a time. You will be there for an eternity.  Instead, sort like-minded stuff together:  printed e-mails; newspapers/magazines; reports; files; to file items; to read items; to-do items, and to give to someone else items etc.  Then, deal with the bulkier and easy to decide upon items such as newspapers/magazines stack first.  This will remove ‘stuff’ from your space more quickly, creating for you the physical and mental space to deal with the more detailed stuff.

Before

After

PROBLEM:

Alchemy Organizing was hired to organize the office of an executive who had an office relocation. His busy schedule after the relocation  had prevented him from putting his documents and office in order.  He was concerned that his successors would not be able to benefit from his 30-odd years of experience and knowledge if there was no way to easily access the materials he was leaving behind.

ALCHEMY SOLUTION:

Our approach was simple. We focused on creating an organized legacy for the future professionals in his industry. After our initial consultation, he became enthusiastic about getting the work done and seeing results. The project took three days, and a year later he was successfully maintaining the new processes that had been implemented to keep his office organized.